Don Hale Blog

*Nicola Wylie (above) won her age cat at the Ellesmere Port parkrun Other club race results: from around  the UK and beyond.. *Birchwood:  Three NWRRC members took part in the Birchwood 10k race on Sunday.  Kelly-Marie Alford  and  Cai Roberts  ran together again with Kelly finishing in 156th place in 50.46 and the 7th F35 athlete, with Cai sharing the same time and just one place behind.  Mandy Owen  also continued her return to fitness with another determined run in 56.13 and 220th place. *Pictured (*above l-r) Mandy Owen, with Kelly Alford and Cai Roberts. *America: Jon Evans  continued his American adventure last weekend and returned to the  Theodore Roosevelt Island DC parkrun  in America where he celebrated a great new course PB of 22.55 to win his MV55 age cat, marking a 27-second improvement to his time from last week and finishing in 7th place overall. *Jon Evans (*above) celebrated a new course PB at his American parkrun. *Hemel Hempstead: Stuart   Culverhouse  completed a to

*Four dazzling NWRRC runners at the Blackpool Lights races (l-r) Cai Roberts, Kelly Alford, Mandy Owen and Charlie Owen. Lights, camera, action, for club runners at Blackpool Illuminations races... Reports by Don Hale.   Four club members celebrated a night out at Blackpool last Saturday and competed in the ‘Run the Lights’ 10k & 5k races, which also marked the start of the famous Illuminations at this popular Lancashire seaside resort.  Kelly Alford  and her partner  Cai Roberts  were both in dazzling form and ran together throughout the 10k event, with  Kelly  also celebrating a new course PB by about a minute in 50.42 and finished 4th in her F35 age cat in 111th position as the 22nd female runner, with  Cai  sharing the same time, and just one place behind.  And praise too for  Mandy Owen  who ran very well after recovering from a period of ill health and finished in 216th place. She he was the 56th female runner in 57.21, and her husband  Charlie Owen,  who is recovering from a

*Jonathan Kettle (*above) braved injury to finish well at Manchester Seven Road Runners tackled the Manchester Marathon. Report by Don Hale.   A team of seven Road Runners travelled North last weekend for the Manchester Marathon, which also included an elite race, and a trial for top English runners aiming to represent their country in the forthcoming Commonwealth Games. Claimed to be one of the largest Marathon’s in Europe, this event attracted over 24,000 entrants and provided a stern test for a variety of club and general runners of mixed abilities. Jonathan Kettle  was the impressive first NWRRC member home in just 2 hours 48 minutes and 45 seconds for 468th place overall, despite a late injury scare, with  Josh Keogh  also running well in 850th place in 2.56.00, and  Stuart Culverhouse  performed well again in 4,496th place in 3.39.47.   *Josh Keogh (*above left) with Stuart Culverhouse (*right). Steve Roberts  was pleased to finish 7,248th in 4.02.22, and partners  Cai Roberts  a

*Llyr ApGeraint-Roberts (*above) won a silver medal at the Welsh Duathlon. Silver and bronze medals for Road Runners at Welsh Duathlon championships at Harlech... Report by Don Hale.   Two NWRRC athletes collected prestigious silver and bronze medals in their respective age categories after competing in the Welsh Duathlon Championships at Harlech last Sunday. Llyr ApGeraint-Roberts  and  Richard Eccles  competed in the Harlech Sprint Duathlon event which involved two varied runs interspersed with a tough bike ride. The race attracted 101 finishers, with Llyr winning a silver medal in his M40 age cat in 10th place overall, in a total time of 1 hour 10 minutes and 56 seconds, whilst Richard also finished well in 26th place overall, and he was 3rd in his M50 cat for a bronze medal in 1.17.55. Llyr’s splits included a 5k run in 19.01, a 20k plus cycle ride in 40.49, and a final run in 9.11.  After the race, Llyr admitted: ‘My legs were filled with lactate on the steps to the finish at Harl

*Steve Mason (Above) enjoyed another good run at Conwy despite the conditions Wild, wet, and windy at popular Conwy Parkrun...and success for Charlie Owen. Report by Don Hale. Photos by Steve Jeffery.   It was another wild, wet, and very windy day at Conwy parkrun last Saturday morning at the RSPB site, yet this popular event still attracted over two hundred determined runners. Martin Green  was the first man home again over this puddled-filled course and knocked eighteen seconds off his winning time from last week, but he was made to work hard throughout his run by promising local junior athlete Alfie Shiland, who eventually finished just seven seconds adrift. North Wales Road Runners  had twelve members in action and recorded nine age cat podium results including five outright victories, two second, and three third places. Martin Green  additionally won his MV45-49 age cat in a fast time of 18 minutes 48 seconds, whilst  Steve Mason  also enjoyed another great performance to finish 5

*Ben and Sarah Hudson celebrated their wedding anniversary at the Reading half-marathon. Report by Don Hale.   Ben and Sarah-Ferguson Hudson celebrated their wedding anniversary in style last Sunday by running in the Reading half-marathon, with Ben claiming a new personal best time over this distance, whilst Sarah was just one second adrift of her target. The popular NWRRC husband and wife duo tackled an undulating course, which left Sarah slightly frustrated at just missing out on her own PB, and of completing a unique family double. Despite the challenging route and the conditions, both athletes competed well amongst more than 6,000 runners, with Ben finishing 620th overall in a new PB of 1 hour 33 minutes and 44 seconds. Sarah too was so close to glory and just missed out by a second on claiming her own PB, finishing in 1,329th place in 1.46.00. After the race, Sarah admitted: ‘Reading half for me and Ben this morning and gutted to miss sub 1:45 yet again, but there were a couple of

Carla Green realises PB dream at Altrincham 10k race.   Report by Don Hale.   Carla Green finished as the 3rd female runner at the Altrincham 10k race last Sunday, and finally realised a four-year PB dream to dip under 40-minutes for this challenging distance. The NWRRC member celebrated a very positive performance, finishing 35th overall out of 1,188 finishers and she was 3rd Lady in 38 minutes 49 seconds. Carla also won her FV45 age category.  The female race was won by  Joanna Marsden  in 36.18, with  Molly Cawthorne  2nd in 37.41 with Carla 3rd. The male race was won by  Marco Parolin  in 33.09, with 2nd  Matthew Beacock  in 34.34, and  Matthew Harrison  3rd in 34.39. Silver medal for Kelly-Marie at Wrexham 10k.   Kelly-Marie Alford  and  Cai Roberts  ran in the re-arranged Village Bakery half-marathon race in Wrexham on Sunday and both rummers were satisfied with their performances on a very hot day.  Kelly-Marie also finished second in the North Wales championships and won a pres

*Kelly-Marie Alford and Mandy Owen on Blackpool prom. NORTH WALES RUNNERS DAZZLED AT BLACKPOOL LIGHTS 10K - and course PB for Kelly-Marie. Report by Don Hale.   Four North Wales athletes dazzled in the glare of the Blackpool Illuminations last Saturday night during the live “Run the Lights” 10k race, which attracted over seven-hundred entrants. The team effort involved husband and wife duo  Charlie and Mandy Owen , with  Kelly-Marie Alford  and her partner  Cai Roberts , together with their young son  Noah  in his buggy. Kelly, who has performed well in several recent endurance events, was again the pick of the club members in 146th place overall, and 28th female runner with a deserved course PB of 49 mins 49 seconds. And she only just missed out on a podium position, finishing 4th in her F35 age cat.  After the race  Kelly-Marie  said: ‘ Blackpool Run the Lights 10k done and dusted (and Noah).’  *The North Wales team who competed in the 'Run the Lights' 10k (*pictured l-r) Ca

*Cai Roberts and Kelly-Marie Alford on the podium with their son Noah. Cai and Kelly-Marie on track at Oulton Park Report by Don Hale.   Cai Roberts  and his partner  Kelly-Marie Alford  raced around the track during a series of running events at the Oulton Park Grand prix last Sunday, with Cai completing the 10k challenge, and Kelly-Marie claiming 3rd place in her F35 age category in the 16-miler. The popular running couple, who are still recovering from last week’s North Wales half-marathon, sped along the brand-new traffic free course and around the famous motor racing circuit in different events, with Cai finishing 80th overall in his 10k race in 55 minutes 34 seconds; whilst Kelly battled a much longer and more undulating route, including the circuit, to finish 40th overall and 3rd F35 cat in 2 hours 42 minutes and 23 seconds. Later  Kelly-Marie  admitted: ‘ I had the worst stitch at mile 8.5, and it took ages to get rid of it. OMG it was so hard! The hills zapped the energy right